Fire and Ice
by BehrHug
Summary: Max and Liz face the end and the truth, finally.


Title: Fire and Ice  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Hey, if I really owned any of the WB characters, would I be sitting in this   
dilapidated desk chair behind an 8-year-old computer dreaming about the day when Max   
and Liz are reunited?   
  
She looked down at his hand. She longed—no, needed—to hold his hand. It was   
the only form of security in the world. They were surrounded by enemies and void of all   
allies; the end was looming near. He turned to face her. Should he forgive her? Could   
he leave it like this? Was it too late?   
  
She stared ahead, ever-aware of being trapped. There was no hope. Isabel was   
dead, Michael was dying, and Tess had joined forces against them. She felt her heart   
pulsating throughout her entire body; she had never before felt such fear. But he was   
there with her, the love of her life, her soulmate. Her mind flashed back: "Max, I care   
about you, but...I don't want to die for you...I want to be safe...Kyle and I made love, the   
end...There's just nothing left to say."   
  
She closed her eyes. If only she could take it back, everything she said, all the   
lies. Would he forgive her? Could he leave it like this? Was it too late?   
  
"You knew this day would come," the boy said. It was Nicholas, the youngest,   
the leader. "How could you possibly defeat us when we outnumber you to such a   
degree?"   
  
Max's jaw clenched, his fists tightened. "It has nothing to do with that, and you   
know it." He stepped out in front of Liz. "Tess abandoned us when we needed her most.   
We're defeated because of her disloyalty."   
  
Tess stepped out from among them. The look on her face was that of pure rage,   
remorseless of her crimes against her own people. She laughed. "Max, who are you   
trying to convince?" She walked closer. "You dismissed me and my rightful place in   
your life when all I ever asked for was your acceptance. I depended on you, but you   
betrayed me once again for her." Tess paused for a minute, fixing her glare on Liz. "The   
girl who supposedly loved you, but evidently not enough to keep Kyle out of her bed."   
  
He winced. It still hurt the same way it did when he first came to her window that   
night. He couldn't sleep, he couldn't eat, he couldn't live. The doubt had faded from his   
mind. As illogical as it had once seemed, he accepted it. She just didn't love him   
anymore. Still, his instinct was to protect her.  
  
"I'm the last one, Tess," he said, tears welling in his eyes. "Please let Liz go."   
Tess stared at him coldly, her eyes narrowing. She took a deep breath, opening her   
mouth to speak, but instead turned her back, walking toward the Skins. She looked at   
Nicholas, nodding her head. "It's time," is all she said.  
  
Max looked into Liz's eyes. "This is it," he said. "I'm sorry." She couldn't   
control the tears anymore. It had finally come to this. They had only minutes, she   
guessed. What could be said in minutes? What reason would he have for believing that   
all those things she said, everything he thought he saw were all lies?   
  
"And we begin," Nicholas said. All on command, they raised their hands,   
projecting a transparent green light towards the two of them.   
  
"What is it?" Liz asked. She found herself reaching for his hand. He looked   
down to see her shaking. "I don't know," he answered helplessly.   
  
This green light, whatever power it held, began enveloping the two of them until   
they were completely surrounded by its sphere. All eyes were on them.  
  
Liz couldn't let it happen, not like this, not with so much to tell him. "Max," she   
blurted out suddenly, "I have to tell you something."   
  
"It's a little late for that, Liz," he answered somewhat coldly. Blinking back more   
tears, she considered the irony of it all. She had been forced to hurt the one person in the   
world she was willing to die for to save all of their lives. Now, their death was imminent,   
and there wasn't enough time to say it all. She felt the air surrounding them grow colder.  
  
She was desperate. "Max, I love you." Her voice was low and hoarse. She   
squeezed his hand, somehow hoping to prompt a response from him before it was too   
late. She shivered in the cold.  
  
"Liz, it's too late." His face was pale and weak. His seeming abundance of   
mental strength had left him, and here he stood, defeated, dying, with the woman he   
thought would love him until death. "There aren't enough apologies or explanations in   
the world for what you did." He pulled his hand away. He could feel a sudden drop in   
the temperature.   
  
She couldn't stand it anymore. The time she had left was precious. She took his   
face in her hands, and said, "Max, I can't die this way. I can't let you believe that I slept   
with Kyle, or that I wouldn't be willing to die for you." She sobbed uncontrollably. "It   
was all a lie." He looked at her puzzled, but not wholly concerned, either. She wondered   
if she had enough time to adequately explain. "You came back, Max, from 14 years in   
the future. You told me I had to make you fall out of love with me. It was the only way   
to save the planet." Max looked at her strangely, pushing her aside. "I had to do it, Max.   
I had to lie to you. And it killed me. I knew I was throwing away our entire future." She   
suddenly realized what was happening. The temperature wouldn't stop dropping until   
they were both dead.   
  
She looked at him, his back turned to her. It was almost over. There was only   
one possibility. She walked towards him, turning him to face her. She held his face just   
inches from her own. He didn't fight it; if for no other reason, he lacked the strength.   
His eyes were so lifeless, she thought. Wasting no more time, Liz pulled him close to   
her, feeling his heart beat. Touching his lips first with her fingers, she kissed him more   
passionately than she thought herself capable. The energy she emitted was superhuman,   
and all at once, the visions came...Max saw himself, older, physically different. He heard   
himself confirm Liz's story: "You're not letting yourself change...I need you to help me   
fall out of love with you...14 years from now we are taken over by our enemies...All our   
lives depend on it."   
  
Max opened his eyes, staring at Liz, amazed by what he had just seen. Tears   
rolled down his cheeks. "Oh, my God," he finally managed to say. "Liz..." he   
swallowed hard, "none of it was true? I mean, you never slept with him? You...you   
didn't mean any of it?" Liz gently kissed the tears away while he held her tightly, trying   
to ward off the now freezing temperature. She didn't have to answer; he believed her.   
He closed his eyes again, furious that he had allowed himself to believe what he knew   
was not true, not real. "Max, I never stopped loving you. I never could." She shivered   
violently. It had to have been below zero. He cried freely, now shaking with her. Liz   
felt her hands growing numb. "I didn't mean it, Max. You saved my life. I would die a   
thousand deaths for you." He pulled her face up to his and kissed her furiously, savoring   
every second he had left with her. "I believe you," he said, again and again, between   
breaths. "Liz, I love you." She felt their passion so completely that she no longer felt the   
cold. But the Skins were still there, and their power was still growing.   
  
Liz's legs gave out on her, and she fell to the ground. Max wrapped his arms   
around her, wanting to protect her, save her from this death. "Liz, if there were any way   
to get you out of here..." She opened her eyes and put her finger on his lips. "I wouldn't   
let you," she finished. She stared at his eyes until she could no longer keep them open.   
He was growing increasingly weak. There was nothing she could give him, no way to   
relieve his pain. If she couldn't die for him, she'd die with him.   
  
She took a deep, gasping breath. "I have...no regrets, Max. I love you." His tears   
streamed down his face. "I love you," he whispered. "We'll be together soon." He put   
his hand on her heart. Nothing. She was gone. His death lay only minutes, if not   
seconds, away. With all the energy he had left in his body, he let out a painful, angry   
scream. It was all over. His reason for living lay dead in his arms. He himself was   
submitting to the cold. It was time. He lay Liz on the ground next to him, and, crying no   
more, put his head on her chest, waiting to die. There were no words, no sounds. Only   
pain. He felt his body shutting down, his soul giving up the fight. Within minutes, his   
eyes closed forever, and the man who loved this woman like no man had ever loved a   
woman before left his life, their lives, and this planet was void of the passion, the true,   
perfect, unconditional love that they shared. True love ceased to exist.   
  



End file.
